Eighty-three days.

That is how long the state of Illinois has gone since a permanent budget was supposed to have been adopted. Lawmakers had until May 31 to pass an operating budget for the 2008 fiscal year. But the past three months have been marred with the kind of partisan bickering that could ordinarily only be caricatured by the most cynical of observers.

And 12 days after a budget finally was passed by both chambers of the legislature, here we sit waiting for something, anything, on exactly how our government will keep functioning.

It has been 22 days since the state has had even a stopgap budget. The 30-day temporary budget passed at the end of June was not so much a needed measure as it was a political tool. Those 30 days during the long, hot Springfield summer were supposed to have yielded progress, not stagnation.

In the interim, Illinois taxpayers have been asked to shoulder the burden of overtime pay for lawmakers who, for the most part, have convened for less time per day than the average rain delay at Wrigley Field.

The blame, as usual, can be spread around. But it does not extend far past the doorstep of the state’s Democratic Party.

It is ironic that for all the difficulties a partisanly-divided government presents, the ones that stem from the near total control of government by one party that have become the biggest threat to stability.

Gov. Blagojevich, apparently still smarting from his colossal failure to implement a Gross Receipts Tax, is holding out on taking any official action on the new belated budget. He announced recently (and without specifics as usual) that he will use the line-item veto power to cut $500 million from it and use the money to fund a new health care plan.

But the charade continues as Senate President Emil Jones, in an apparent temper tantrum against House Speaker Michael Madigan, will not allow any override votes to take place.

Ignoring, for the moment, the constitutional rubs this presents, it also means that projects necessary for many communities in the state are being fought over again.

While these officials continue to use the state as their own personal sandbox, schools (this University included), health care facilities and increasing numbers of state workers find themselves without the means to function. It is past time that we see real leadership and cooperation instead of pure posturing.

The idea that anyone will gain anything from this madness is ludicrous. It is time for it to end.